Post-quake rebuilding will take three years: China

Xinhua Beijing, May 23 (Xinhua) Reconstruction work after the devastating May 12 earthquake in southwestern China will take three years, a Chinese official said Friday. Li Chengyun, vice governor of quake-hit Sichuan province, told reporters here that the provincial government planned to build new villages, townships and cities in the quake-ravaged province in three years.

“The rebuilding work would face a lot of difficulty in the region, where the mountains have been shaken loose in the earthquake and more than 7,000 aftershocks (aggravating the danger of landslides),” the information office of the State Council said.

“The priority work in the reconstruction is to find proper locations for rural residents to build houses. We will strive to make such village houses ready for them before winter comes,” Li said.

He emphasised that reconstruction planning should be carried out after a thorough survey and understanding of the damage in the earthquake so that casualties and destruction in future quakes could be minimised. Xinhua